RIZ Regional Innovation Center for Energy Technology
The clear-cut building volume of the Regional Innovation Centre for Energy Technology (RIZ) at the street corner Badstraße / Südring marks the entrance to the new campus. Towards Badstraße, the building appears as a largely closed structure, whilst in the west, a large open façade faces the future North Campus. A generous, angled recess on the west façade guides pedestrians approaching from the old campus through the underpass to the main entrance. The building comprises a multi-storey research wing with offices and a directly adjacent test. The office workplaces are located in a clearly structured room cluster that faces west, overlooking the campus and the nearby Kinzig. Located between the technical centre and the research workplaces is an area of circulation and ancillary rooms that repeatedly provides views into the hall. Photography by © Bernhard Strauss
Lines-of-sight connecting the campus outside with the hall inside emphasize the dialogue and the solidarity of an interdisciplinary team of researchers. As a special feature, so-called research zones were created in the office wing, which are connected via voids and stretch across the three upper floors. This results in a vertically floating space that allows for flexible occupation and offers various lines-of-sight. On the roof is an outdoor lab that can be accessed directly from the building. Pillars and truss girders made of local beech form the supporting ...